The eight captains who all hope to lift the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy

The IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy gets underway on Tuesday in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi with eight teams hoping to get their hands on the silverware and prize of promotion to the IRB Junior World Championship in 2010.

Papua New Guinea will make their debut at this level in the opening match against Romania, which kicks off at 12:00 local time (09:00 GMT) at Impala. The other Pool B match, between 2008 runners up Chile and Korea will get action underway at the nearby RFUEA Ground at 14:00.

At the same time on the Impala pitch USA - the side relegated after finishing bottom of the IRB Junior World Championship standings in Wales last year - face another side breaking new ground in the Cayman Islands.

The all-African affair between hosts Kenya and Namibia, the region's Under 19 champions, will close out the opening day of the tournament, kicking off at 16:15 at the RFUEA Ground and shown live on state television channel KBC.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA V ROMANIA - Pool B

Romania finished fourth in the inaugural IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy in 2008, missing out on the final after losing to hosts Chile 14-3 in the pool decider and then 34-10 to Georgia in the third place playoff.

This disappointment will be motivating Romania, who are coached this year by Alexandru Marin, to do better in Kenya and while they may be favourites in this match, Papua New Guinea cannot be underestimated after piling on the points in the Oceania qualifying tournament.

Papua New Guinea, though, will be keen to keep the ball alive and away from the set pieces where the Romanian size advantage will be key. This will be the first of many firsts for PNG with them never having met any of the other eight teams in this tournament.

QUOTES:

Romania coach Alexandru Marin: "We are going into a tough match but the team is ready because back home we had a two-week camp and worked very hard. We have been European champions for two consecutive years, but this is my first year running the team. I hope the players have a good game against PNG. With regards to how we are going to play I can only say that we have strategies for every opponent."

Romania captain Eduard Marinca: "I expect a good game v PNG, with fair play. In this tournament we want to reach the next level because last year we won two and lost two."

Papua New Guinea coach Robin Tarere: ""We are planning for a running game; my boys are small in size in comparison to the Romanians so we will have to play far from the set pieces. I've been with the team for three years, but this is the first opportunity we have to play at a tournament of such a high level of competition away from the Pacific region."

Papua New Guinea captain Chris Kakah: "It should be a fast-flowing match and one we are really looking forward to as we have never played Romania, or any other of the seven teams in the tournament for that matter. I am expecting our stand out player to be fly half Jonah Kautu."

TEAMS:

Papua New Guinea: 1. Peatrie Birney 2. Boe Vaieke 3. Fairi Fairi 4. David Moses 5. Seanen Carbry 6. Hanley Messea 7. Desmond Korpok 8. Joshua Posu 9. Roman Camillus 10. Jonah Kautu 11. Steven Jacobs 12. Okay Moka 13. Jackson Pato 14. Kirarock Ngaffin 15. Christopher Kakah (Captain).

Replacements: 16. Yahu Possy 17. Christopher Namani 18. Edgar Mongoru 19. Eugene Tovue 20. Bomai Kaupa 21. Rex Kurup 22. Henry Mobiha.

Romania: 1. Catalin Graur 2. Eduard Marinca (Captain) 3. Alexandru Tarus 4. Marian Drenceanu 5. Mihai Moraru 6. Valentin Rosu 7. Ionut Ciocan 9. Gabriel Bucveschi 10. Stefan Patrascu 11. Cristian Rizea 12. Filip Lazar 13. Madalin Lemnaru 14. Ionut Puisorul 15. Marian Pirvu.

Replacements: 16. Cristi Ciornei 17. Andrei Florescu 18. Dorin Lazar 19. Andrei Sugar 20. Radu Pralea 21. Florin Ibanescu 22. Adrian Apostol.

CHILE V KOREA - Pool B

As if losing last year's final to South American rivals Uruguay on home soil wasn't enough motivation for Chile's Under 20s to go one better this year and win the title, then the tragic death of their friend and teammate Santiago Fuenzalida in a car accident certainly is.

The full back was an inspirational player for Chile and would have been in Kenya, but he will not be far from the thoughts of his coaches and teammates, who will warm up for matches wearing t-shirts bearing his number 15 with 'Santi' above it.

Korea themselves will be hoping to better last year's sixth place finish, having lost to Namibia 36-29 in the fifth place playoff in Santiago, and unlike Chile who have several returnees, they have only one player back for another Trophy experience in second row Lee Jong Min.

QUOTES:

Chile coach Rodrigo Boyé: "The team is extremely anxious and always the first match seems to take very long to start. We are expecting this team to hit its strides very quickly. The Koreans will be playing fast rugby and we must ensure we control."

Chile captain José Ignacio Larenas: "The team is well prepared but we are not looking beyond tomorrow. It is one match a time. Our standard has risen since the last JWRT and we are here to win but we first have to deal with Korea and then refocus for the next match."

TEAMS:

Chile: 1. Felipe Beltran 2. Benjamin Barbosa 3. Fernando Benavides 4. Salomon Diaz 5. Pablo Huete 6. Claudio Zamorano 7. Ignacio Sivla 8. Thomas Claps 9. Nicolas Herreros 10. Juan Bostelmann 11. Mauricio Urrutia 12. Jose Gonzalez 13. Jose Ignacio Larenas (Captain) 14. Piero Descalzi 15. Matthieu Manas.

Replacements: 16. Sebastian Gonzalez 17. Iñaki Aboitiz 18. Alfonso Rioja 19. Giani Sichel 20. George Laban 21. Francisco Fernandez 22. Jose Tomas Andreu.

Korea: 1. Son Young Ki 2. Kim Jeep 3. Oh Dong Gyun 4. Park Moo Hyun 5. Lee Jong Min 6. Hwang Seung Eip 7. Lee Hak Seop 8. Cha Sung Kun 9. Lee Seung Bae (Captain) 10. Park Hong Sik 11. Kim Kun Hui 12. Choi Nicholas 13. Yoo Hee Bum 14. Park Jeon 15. Yang Soo Woong.

Replacements: 16. Choi Muk Hwan 17. Kim Hoe Cheol 18. Lee Ki Hwan 19. Yun Seung Mo 20. Yang Jung Pil 21. Ko Yong Ho 22. Jung Hyun.

CAYMAN ISLANDS V USA - Pool A

The Cayman Islands have already written their own piece of history simply by qualifying for the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy, becoming their nation's first team to secure a place in an IRB international 15-a-side tournament.

Captain Daniel McGrath admits his side "want to show the world that we have the quality to play here" but the USA will be looking to dominate the match from early on with an immediate return to the Junior World Championship their target.

The Junior Eagles have a quartet of players in their ranks who experienced relegation last year, including wing Zach Test who has recently caught the eye with the USA Sevens team in the Hong Kong and Adelaide legs of the IRB Sevens World Series.

QUOTES:

Cayman Islands co-coach Richard Adams: "We are settled and focused. We trained very well since arrival and before coming to Nairobi we spent a week in England training at Bracknell RFC. We want to have positives in the game and put ourselves in a position to win the game."

Cayman Islands captain Daniel McGrath: "We want to show the world that we have the quality to play here. We've had a very good preparation leading into the tournament to the extent this is the best-prepared Caymanian rugby side ever. We are confident to have a good game against USA."

USA captain Cameron Dolan: "We have a good team and have been training very well. Our goal is to win the tournament and are have prepared for that. To win against Cayman Islands we must dominate. We are big and physical. We saw a bit of the Caymanians at a recent tournament and they are a good side"

TEAMS:

Cayman Islands: 1. Taron Forbes 2. Daniel McGrath (Captain) 3. Arley Chisholm 4. Jeffrey Robinson 5. Shemiaiah Granty 6. Michael Bell 7. Edward Westin 8. James Geary 9. Michael Wilson 10. Joel Clark 11. Cueme Parker 12. Robbie Cribb 13. Michael Manderson 14. Darien Montague 15. Guillaume Hammersley.

Replacements: 16. Alexander Roberts 17. David Terry 18. Garrett Connolly 19. Erik Arch 20. Taylor Foster 21. Justin Vasquez 22. Jake Kelly.

USA: 1. Nick Johnson 2. Cullen Glennon 3. Aaron Jenkins 4. Ryan McTiernan 5. Kyle Stroman 6. Andrew Hanske 7. Andre Diaz 8. Cameron Dolan (Captain) 9. Brian Hussey 10. Joe Baker 11. Zach Test 12. Matt Hughston 13. Peter Tiberio 14. Brett Thompson 15. Robert Johnson.

Replacements: 16. Jared Braun 17. Zach Fenoglio 18. David Tameilau 19. Barry Sheehan 20. Chris Saint 21. Tai Enosa 22. Niall O'Keefe.

KENYA v NAMIBIA - Pool B

Namibia came out on top when the two sides met at last year's CAR Under 19 Championship in Tunisia with a 26-19 victory, although with Kenya excited by the prospect of playing before their own vocal supporters they could avenge that loss.

However Namibia coach John Diergaart believes the team he has brought to Kenya is stronger than the one which won the African regional qualifier for the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy.

QUOTES:

Kenya captain Eric Kioko: "The anxiety is growing. We know it is an unbelievable opportunity to play at home. I am grateful to be captain of this team. The coaches have worked very well on tuning down the anxiety. The opposition will be bigger which means we will have to run more at them."

Namibia coach John Diergaart: "We have prepared really well and are very eager to get the tournament started. Our experience in Africa will help us a lot; we are the reigning African champions. We played against Kenya last year in Tunis but we have a much better team that the one in that tournament."

Namibia captain Robert Herridge: "It is very important to start with a win, on a high note so that we can build from there. It would be great to finish tomorrow with a win on our back. But it will be physically hard and they will also have a huge home crowd supporting them."

TEAMS:

Kenya: 1. Eric Kioko (Captain) 2. Mathew Musalia 3. Ryan Musumba 4. Kevin Gacheru 5. Polycarp Odhiambo 6. Joel Omer 7. Oscar Ouma 8. Ken Isindu 9. George Mutuku 10. Ken Andola 11. Michael Wanjala 12. Patrice Agunda 13. Joseph Abala 14. Collins Omae 15. Oscar Otindo.

Replacements: 16. Dennis Karani 17. Jeremy Njoroge 18. Mugambi Kithamba 19. Jeff Ojwach 20. Robert Ouko 21. Antony Nyandigisi 22. Felix Ayange.

Namibia: 1. Lloydt Busch 2. Theo Coetzee 3. Henk Roets 4. Barend Janse van Rensburg 5. Andre de Klerk 6. Waldo Schafer 7. Morne Blom 8. Maurice Richter 9. Pandeni Ueitele 10. Mahco Prinsloo 11. Russel van Wyk 12. Ashwin Walters 13. Kevin Cloete 14. Nathan Ockhuizen 15. Robert Herridge (Captain).

Replacements: 16. Albert Loubser 17. Leandro Bampton 18. Brian Roodt 19. Janne Karuaihe 20. Johannes Tromp 21. Ande Walters 22. Lezhanne Alcock